Search results
- : principal source : origin Did you know? When it first entered English in the late 16th century, fountainhead was used only in a literal sense—to refer to the source of a stream. By the 17th century, however, it was already beginning to be used figuratively in reference to any original or primary source.
www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › fountainhead
People also ask
What does Fountainhead mean?
When was Fountainhead first used?
What is a fountainhead of information?
What is the fountainhead about?
1. : a spring that is the source of a stream. 2. : principal source : origin. Did you know? When it first entered English in the late 16th century, fountainhead was used only in a literal sense—to refer to the source of a stream.
FOUNTAINHEAD definition: 1. a thing, person, or place where something comes from or begins, or that is the cause of…. Learn more.
- Introduction
- Author Biography
- Plot Summary
- Characters
- Media Adaptations
- Themes
- Style
- Topics For Further Study
- Historical Context
- Compare & Contrast
After Ayn Rand finished writing The Fountain-head, the manuscript was rejected by twelve publishers who claimed, as Laurence Miller notes in an article on the author for the Dictionary of Literary Biography, it was "commercially unsuitable because it was too politically and philosophically controversial, too intellectual, too improbable a story, to...
Ayn Rand was born Alisa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 2, 1905 to Fronz (a chemist) and Anna. Alisa taught herself to read at age six and by age nine, she determined that she would become a writer of idealist heroes like those created by Sir Walter Scottand Victor Hugo. The family fled the Bolshevik Revolution soon after it began ...
Part I
The novel opens as the Stanton Institute of Technology is graduating its 1922 class. The dean has just informed Howard Roark that he is being expelled for "insubordination,"—for refusing to complete his assignments according to the standards of the college. Roark is not upset by the expulsion; rather, he admits that he should have quit the school long ago since he claims that he has learned very little there. Valedictory speaker Peter Keating, who has conformed to Stanton's rules, is consider...
Part II
When Cameron retires, Roark accepts a job at Francon, but after refusing to work with others on his first design there, he is fired. He is later hired by another builder who lets him design independently but alters his work after it is completed. As a result, Roark determines to work for himself and is soon contracted by newspaperman Austen Heller to build his home. Roark cannot find other clients to appreciate his unique designs and so is forced to close his office and find work in a granite...
Part III
In an effort to bolster his own reputation, Keating asks Roark to design a low-cost development called Cortlandt Homes. Roark agrees, with Keat-ing's promise that he will not alter the plans. When Keating passes the design off as his own and allows it to be altered, Roark blows up the project with Dominique's help. When Roark goes on trial for the bombing, Wynand supports his friend, which turns public opinion against him. Toohey sees the situation as an opportunity for him to destroy Wynand,...
Henry Cameron
Roark seeks out Henry Cameron when he first comes to New York because of the architect's rep-utation as a man of independent vision. Unfortunately, Cameron's individualism has cost him a successful career. When Roark convinces Cameron to take him on as his assistant, the older man helps him develop his own style. Cameron is the first to recognize and help promote Roark's genius. At one point he tests Roark's resolve, suggesting that he sell out and give the public what it wants in order to ga...
Lois Cook
Presenting herself as a nonconformist, Lois Cook breaks the rules of a society that she believes is trapped in conventionality. She does not try to fit standards of beauty or respectability. Yet her rebellion is shallow at heart. Instead of railing against social corruption or shoddy journalism, she instead chooses not to bathe regularly. She passes herself off as an intellectual but her writing, which breaks all the rules of grammar and form, ultimately is unintelligible.
Mike Donnigan
Working classelectrician Mike Donnigan refuses to be swayed by public opinion. Though possessing only an average intelligence, he recognizes the quality of Roark's work and the mediocrity of Francon's and Keating's. His friendship with Roark develops through their mutual appreciation of well-constructed buildings.
The Fountainhead, the film version of the novel, was released by Warner Brothers in 1949 and directed by King Vidor. The film stars Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal.An audio version of The Fountainheadwas released by Blackstone Audio Books in 1995 and read by Christopher Hurt.Reason
Rand believed that "reason is man's only proper judge of values and his only proper guide to action." She called her philosophy "objectivism" because she wanted to promote a sense of objective reality based on the power to reason. In the novel, Roark exhibits reason as he determines what nourishes his ego and thus sustains his life. The main quality that accomplishes these ends is his individualism. Throughout the novel, he continually refuses to allow others to alter his vision or to dictate...
Individualism versus Collectivism
Rand presents her philosophy of the merits of individualism and collectivism through two of her main characters: Howard Roark and Ellsworth Toohey. She champions individualism in her depiction of Roark, whose nobility rests in large part on his determination not to be influenced by others, especially in regards to his creative vision. Roark emphasizes that individuality fosters self-sufficiency, which enables him to successfully produce artistic architectural structures. Rand insisted in a 19...
Structure
Rand was a great admirer of Aristotle, especially his literary theories. She believed that a novel should exhibit an Aristotelian logic, that all of its parts (plot, characters, and setting) should unite to reveal theme, reflected through and controlled by the imagination of the author. In her The Romantic Manifesto, she insists that these parts, or "attributes" as she calls them "unite into so integrated a sum that no starting point can be discerned." In a letter to Gerald Loeb she declares,...
Symbols
The title of the novel symbolizes the character of Howard Roark and Rand's insistence that men like him should be considered the source of all human progress, as the fountainhead is the source of a river. She suggests that an independent spirit coupled with a creative imagination will produce an ideal man who will, through his inventions, help society prosper. Roark gains satisfaction by being true to his independent spirit, and at the same time, that spirit aids society as it creates functio...
View the film version of The Fountainheadand critique it. Is Rand's philosophy of objectivism as evident in the film as it is in the novel? Are the characters believable? What changes would you mak...Compare Rand's political themes in her novel We The Living with the more social focus in The Fountainhead.Research the development of the skyscraper. Was there as much resistance to this new form of architecture as there is in the novel? Who were the innovative architects during the early part of the c...In the novel, Rand condemns collectivism. Find arguments that support this movement and any examples that you can find of successful versions of it.The Great Depression
The Great Depression held America in its grip during the 1930s. The depression was a severe economic crisis that occurred in the United States after the stock market crash of 1929. The impact on Americans was staggering. In 1933, the worst year, unemployment rose to sixteen million, about one third of the available labor force. During the early months, men and women searched eagerly and dili-gently for any type of work. However, after several months of no sustained employment, they became dis...
The Red Decade
During the Great Depression, impoverished Americans began to doubt whether they would ever attain the American dream of success. As a result, the traditional spirit of individualism began to be replaced by communal sentiment. This new zeitgeist (spirit of the age) had important political repercussions: the repeal of Prohibition, the rise of labor organizations, and the institution of social safety nets, most notable after the Social Security Act was passed. Social reformers such as Jane Ad-da...
1930s: Joseph Stalin is the oppressive dictator of the Soviet Union. His reign of terror lasts for two more decades. Today: In 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev orders the dissolution of the Soviet...1930s: Germany invades Poland in 1939 and World War II begins. Today: George W. Bush declares a war on terrorism after the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centerin September 2001.1930s: America and the world is in the grips of a severe economic depression. Today:America sees one of its strongest economic booms in the 1990s. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, that...noun. a spring that is the source of a stream. a principal or original source. Discover More. Word History and Origins. Origin of fountainhead 1. First recorded in 1575–85; fountain + head. Discover More. Example Sentences. In 1949 his wife Lauren Bacall was slated to star alongside Gary Cooper in the adaptation of Rand's The Fountainhead.
1. a spring that is the source of a stream. [...] 2. the original or main source of anything. [...] Synonyms of 'fountainhead' • source, well, spring, origin [...] More. Examples of 'fountainhead' in a sentence.
Definitions of fountainhead. noun. the source of water from which a stream arises. synonyms: head, headspring. see more. noun. an abundant source. synonyms: well, wellspring. see more.
plural fountainheads. Britannica Dictionary definition of FOUNTAINHEAD. [count] literary. : the origin or source of something. the fountainhead of the faith. FOUNTAINHEAD meaning: the origin or source of something.
